Is it really basketball season already? Not yet. But the Bear Insider was invited to an early pre-season press conference and interviews session, so we're bringing you this early early coverage to whet your appetite!

In addition to Coach Gottlieb and the players at the press conference (Thomas, Smith, Anigwe, Caldwell), I was able to speak to Cayton, Yue, Brown, and West.

I enjoyed the pre-season intro to the 2018-19 women's basketball team. Is Alaysia Styles still a member of the team? I noticed that she was not mentioned in the write-up. Penina Davidson's rebounding will have to be replaced this season and hopefully AS can help fill that void. Did she possibly add any weight/muscle in the off-season to make her a more physical presence inside?

I noticed that no questions were asked about team defense. If one reviews the roster (above), a minimum of nine (maybe ten) quality players jump out. I would hope that coach Gottlieb will employ more pressure defense this year with the additional quality depth that the team posseses. I would love to see some full-court pressure and lots of half-court traps utilized. GO BEARS!

I enjoyed the pre-season intro to the 2018-19 women's basketball team. Is Alaysia Styles still a member of the team? I noticed that she was not mentioned in the write-up. Penina Davidson's rebounding will have to be replaced this season and hopefully AS can help fill that void. Did she possibly add any weight/muscle in the off-season to make her a more physical presence inside?

I noticed that no questions were asked about team defense. If one reviews the roster (above), a minimum of nine (maybe ten) quality players jump out. I would hope that coach Gottlieb will employ more pressure defense this year with the additional quality depth that the team posseses. I would love to see some full-court pressure and lots of half-court traps utilized. GO BEARS!

Yes, she is!! Coach G mentioned her briefly in her comments about player rotations - she used her nickname of Birdy.

I've been dying to know: will we see a post tandem of CJ West and Kristine Anigwe in the starting lineup? Then A Teezy, Kiana Smith, and Recee Caldwell in the backcourt?

Or should I expect LG to start Jaelyn Brown, Micole Cayton, or perhaps ultimately Kenzie Forbes?

I miss the days when we started Talia Caldwell along with Gennifer Brandon or Reshanda Gray (or further back to Devanei Hampton and Ashley Walker). We were SO good on the boards with that approach, and not too shabby scoring with two "pure" inside players on the court together, and solid with interior defense.

Many said Kristine seemed to be developing more as a power forward last season, which bodes well to having CJ West on the court with her anchoring the middle. However, I could also see LG (once again) really riding Anigwe and wanting to clear out space for her to go to work, thus using CJ to relieve her rather than complement her on the floor. And like Recee said in her prior interview, if she, Smith, and A Teezy are consistently shooting from outside at a decent clip, Anigwe might not see as many double and triple teams, thus more impetus to just clear space and let her go to work one-on-one in the post without CJ West on the floor at the same time.

50-60 pounds is fantastic. Especially for a player like CJ, for whom conditioning seemed to really be the main thing holding her back from unleashing her full potential.

Good question about emotional and intellectual growth, pearbear. LG answered about noise level in gym and the ways the players support each other as more nuanced. I wonder what that actually looks like. Anyway, fun to see the presser.